Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 78: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

04, ‘not? Don Francisco—” she nodded her head at Coronado—‘says brave swords come from the hot countries.” ‘They are as God made them, seforita. Steel from the south, and wine and roses and women and all other beautiful things from Spain. That is what my father taught me as a boy—lI believe him. For many years I have known the wine and the roses——” “Do you really march with Don Fran- cisco tomorrow ?” ‘Tf the saints are willing. Is it not an appeal to every Spaniard? Think of it, senorita! New lands to be won! New peoples to be won over to the cross; it may be idols overthrown as we did of old time in this very land.” “They tell me that you were here with Cortez, that you too were a conquista- dor. Is it true?” “T was fourteen years old. I was a very paladin, senorita.” He laughed lightly. ‘Ask Bernal Diaz, the hard- handed old captain of Cortez. Once he had me flogged with a stirrup-leather for stealing his food.” The girl joined in his laugh. “What are they about to do now?” she asked. 4 “T have been told they are about to col- lect taxes for the king; the Royal. B ifth of all the income of the land.” “What becomes of the other four- fifths of what is collected ?” “Doubtless some of it sticks to the fingers that collect it. The saifits know! I am very sure that when a man thrusts his finger into a honey-pot, it does not come out clean.” Two men dragged a set of scales from under the platform and placed them be- fore the fiscal. He gave a signal to the captain of the*guard and the Indians, carrying their bundles, fell into column. The leading native approached the plat- form and laid his tithe on the edge of the dais. “Ten robes of featherwork,” a clerk read from a great book. “Correct. Next man?” The Indian passed on. So they came, man after man, each de- positing his offering before the fiscal ; featherwork as delicate as the finest lace _ of Flanders and in colors outvying the rainbow was there ; boxes of fresh choco- Adventure latl from the lowlands; pearls from the coast, all brown from the fire, for the Spaniard encouraged haste in the Indian labor. Pearls taken by fire from the oyster were brown but the color could be restored. Dainty cotton fabrics were there too and drawn work that one could pass through a finger ring. All these, men eyed eagerly as they were piled to one side. From time to time an obsequious servant bore around a huge tray and flagon of wine with massive golden cups, which, after the fiscal had helped him- self, was passed to the other officers. “What are yonder scales for?” asked Mercedes. “You will see in a little or I am much mistaken.” © Nearly all the Indians had paid their tribute by this time and there remained only a little group of hard-bitten workers ° from the placer mines of the north, the old-time treasure house of Anahuac. MAN came forward bearing a:pack- age covered with rawhide. A sol- dier cut the thongs and, tearing off the cover, turned the contents into the scale- pan. As one man the crowd drew for- ward, watching the pile of yellow dust and nuggets cascading into the pan. The soldiers weighed it carefully. “Ah-h! How much?” “Perhaps five hundred pesos duros. Wine for a year, Pedro mio.” “Yes, but not for us. See the next.”’ The next man had more gold and added it to a.small earthen jar that, emp- tied, showed as many small emeralds as a man might hold in the palm of his hand. “Tt is the treasure house of the world,” — whispered Andres. “And here comes the old guardian.” He was an old, a very old Indian, and he tottered as he walked, with the deadly weakness of extreme old age. His pack- age was so small as to excite comment from the fiscal. ! “You, Tematli! I know your tricks! Where is the rest of your gold?” “Senor’—the voice was weak and quavering—“my concession has failed. I can find no more gold there. The water failed in the stream so I could no longer work the cradles, A month since CS COMMICIOO (E(0)